Welcome my fellow eCommerce Entrepreneurs! My name is Matt Edmundson and this show is for those of us Kurious About eCommerce and want to know how to get better at digital business.
Coming up in today's show we are talking Christmas and what your business can be doing to plan ahead and capitalize on those Christmas sales.
Eggnog and Christmas lights might be the farthest thing from your mind right now but to experience success this year you need to start thinking about how your eCommerce business is going to drive those sales and finish strong in the final quarter.
Here's 10 eCommerce tips for Christmas Readiness:
1. Plan Ahead
It’s never too early to start thinking and planning your sales strategy for the Christmas period. Be deliberate in your planning and create a promotional calendar in which you write down how and when you will reach your sales goals. The earlier you begin to market the more successful your sales will be.
2. Provide Gift Wrapping Services
This might sound obvious but if your site sells gift-able products then also offer a gift wrapping service. Make your site a one stop shop for your customers. Not only would this be a great customer service, it will also add a few pounds to your profit margin. Yes, you can charge for this service but don’t go crazy.
3. Clarify Shipping and Delivery
Be very clear with dates and time frames for shipping and delivery of all your products. Give your customers the last posting dates for Christmas for both national and international deliveries. Talk to your shipping company to get this information and then tell your customers so that they aren’t disappointed.
4. Prevent Returns
Use imagery, videos and detailed product descriptions so that customers know exactly what they are buying and have no surprises when they open their packages. If you’re selling accessories and clothing videos are really helpful because people need to see the product on people.
5. Customer Service
Your customers should always receive the best and most hassle free service at all times. This shouldn’t change over the Christmas period. In fact, step it up a notch. Over Christmas customers seem more hurried and expect speedy and efficient service. Let them know exactly how and when they can reach you over the Christmas period and go the extra mile wherever you can.
6. Offers and Discounts
People start to get into the buying frenzy in October and sales start to go up. Just because people are in the buying mood it doesn’t mean you have to discount your products. But what I do recommend is that you begin to highlight products and create awesome offers and discounts. If you’ve got people who are in the buying mood, they’ll more than likely take you up on your offers and discounts.
7. Be Mobile-Ready
A lot of people will be shopping on their phones so make sure you take the time to optimise the mobile navigation on your site. Pay special attention to your checkout process on your mobile-site, making it user friendly and streamlined. Avoid abandoned carts wherever possible.
8. Vouchers
Vouchers can be a critical part of your Christmas sales strategy. If your customers have joined the shopping frenzy later in the game and have missed shipping dates, they have the option of buying gift vouchers instead. Vouchers are also a great way to create customer engagement in the holiday slump between Christmas and New Year and or the January/ February blues.
9. Do Something for Charity
Christmas is about charity as much as it is about anything else. Invite your customers to donate to a charity of your choice and or offer to match donations. Last year Jersey Beauty Company invited their customers to donate to a very specific event that Imagine If were running. Jersey’s target was £2000 but through very generous customers ended up raising £2500 to help feed 300 lonely, elderly and less fortunate people on Christmas day. As a team, we got to be a part of that huge endeavor and it felt good!
10. Make it Fun
Christmas can so easily become stressful but it's Christ’s birthday and it’s a time of giving so it has to be fun! A few years ago Jersey created a Christmas Carpool video that was a lot of fun to make. We challenge you to throw some fun into your Christmas strategy and include your customers in the festive spirit too.
Our advice, get organised and use these 10 eCommerce tips for creating your Christmas sales strategy. You’ll be glad you did!
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Sadaf checks in with Jersey Beauty Company’s Marketing Manager, Jen Oliver, to talk about Jersey’s plans for Christmas.
In preparation to go live in October, Jersey Beauty Company (JBC) start to plan their Christmas sales in September of each year. They take into account factors such as landing pages, assets, content, promotions, packaging and shipping dates.
What JBC has done to drive sales over Christmas in the past:
- Run offers mainly through October and November
- 12 days of Christmas from 19th November - these included 3 for 2 offers, vouchers, freebies, competitions etc
- Run gift vouchers from October right up until Christmas
- Offer gift wrapping service
- Upgrade shipping to free 24 hour delivery
- Hessian Santa sacks for those who spent over a certain amount, Sacks were made up on free samples and chocolates
- Extra touches - festive spirit
What JBC plans to do this Christmas and Boxing day:
- Jersey Christmas boxes. These will be similar to the current Jersey beauty box which is made up of different popular brands of products. These can be used as a gift for a loved one These lovely gift boxes will have a Christmas spin on them.
- Gift wrapping service
- Hessian Santa sacks with samples.
- Eco-boxes for the eco-conscious. These will be made up of products such as shampoo bars and bamboo toothbrushes.
- Keeping it simple on Boxing Day with money off vouchers.
Jen’s one main piece of advice: get your skates on and get organised!
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